Is There a Place for Guilt? Part II

Dr. Alan J. Dunn

If we are to locate the ‘place for guilt,’ we will have to navigate by the objective points of reference revealed in Scripture. If we merely discuss what you or I feel about guilt, we will soon be adrift on the murky sea of subjectivity. We need to fasten our moral sextant on the objective ‘stars’ of God’s revealed truth. Previously the first two points of reference were identified: first, the fact of God as our Creator, Judge, and Lawgiver; and second, the fact of our accountability to God, our Creator-Father. As His image-bearers, we are obligated to love Him and obey His words with filial trust so as to image Him accurately in creation.

Our guilt has a third objective point of reference: the fact of our sin. God commanded Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit. When Adam ate that fruit, he sinned and incurred the punishment of death for himself and for humanity. We do not now stand in that ‘good’ relation to God in which He originally created us.

There is an aspect of ‘The Fall’ that cannot be ignored: the role of Satan. Jesus says Satan was a liar and murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Satan deceived the couple by placing a question mark over the Word of God, enticing them to suspect God’s goodness and justice. He encouraged them to break God’s Law, promising that they would be ‘enlightened’ and become divine themselves. He tempted them to this self-idolatry with the lie of Genesis 3:4, “You surely shall not die!” when God had said, “you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). When they ate the fruit, they were ‘enlightened,’ not to become divine but to become dead.

The first thing the fallen couple did was to separate from one another. They sowed fig leaves together and covered their loins, separating from each other and from the purposes of God. They aligned themselves with Satan, believing the lie in rebellion against God. God approached the couple but they hid from Him. When Adam reluctantly admits that he knew that he was naked, God asks, “Who told you that you were naked?” This question assumes that Adam has listened to somebody other than God. Adam could not know of his nakedness in his innocence, some one had to tell him. God did not tell him. Therefore another voice has spoken to Adam in competition with God’s words. A rival revelation has been deceptively given and obviously Adam has believed it! God gives him opportunity to indict Satan and expose his lies, but he doesn’t. Instead he blames the woman and then blames God Himself! Then, almost as an after thought, he lamely admits, “and I ate.”

Which brings us to sin: sin is essentially the violation of God’s Law. Later, God reiterated the morality of creation, codifying it as The Ten Commandments. God’s moral Law in brief is: I: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” II: “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” III: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” IV: “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” V: “Honor your father and your mother.” VI: “You shall not murder.” VII: “You shall not commit adultery.” VIII: “You shall not steal.” IX: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” X: “You shall not covet.” Jesus taught that obedience to the Law is not mere external performance, but involves the actings of the heart (see Matthew 5-7). Obedience to the Law is essentially love to God and love to neighbor (cf. Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 13:8-10). In regard to Adam, God’s creature son, his sin evidenced a heart which no longer loved God. How did Adam, who was created in righteous communion with God, sin!? I cannot say. Sin is essentially irrational. There is no logical explanation, no reasoned defense which justifies sin. We can analyze sin and discover its roots and identify it by its violation of the Law, but it makes no sense.

Death is not essentially a biological phenomenon, but is a legal punishment executed by the Divine Judge upon morally accountable Lawbreakers. The meaning of death is not to annihilate, but to separate. Because of man’s sin, death now conditions a fallen creation. When Adam disobeyed God, the created order began to crack apart. Adam experienced death’s separation in himself: his body would return to the dust; in being separated from his wife; in being separated from his labor; in being separated from creation; and in being separated from God.

Guilt is incurred when we reject God’s Word and believe Satan’s lies, when we sin by transgressing God’s Law and render ourselves liable to death. Sadly, like fallen Adam, many today believe lies, and cover sin with the ‘fig leaves’ of their supposed ‘spirituality’ in an attempt to keep God at a distance. Those who reject God ultimately get what they desire: separation from God. Ultimate and eternal separation from God is called ‘hell.’

Adam totally misunderstood God’s approach to him after he sinned. God would have been righteous had He immediately cast the couple into hell. But, without compromise to His justice, God disciplines the couple in mercy. In Genesis 3, God came to salvage creation and to give sinners the promise of salvation! Yes, we are guilty. Yes, we deserve death. But there is forgiveness with God! “The Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). Do not misunderstand His dealings with you. He is not now approaching you to damn you, but to save you from the death you deserve because of your sin!